Applying plant fibers in flooring paint: Strategy to reduce indoor microplastics generations and potential health risks

To reduce microplastics (MPs) generations due to building materials degradation, study investigated the impact of plant fibers integration on the MPs generate from flooring paints. Paint specimens were prepared by incorporating 6, 12, and 18 g of coconut and loofah fibers. And degradation tests were conducted using a walking simulation device. Particles generated during the experiment were collected, and MPs were filtered. Microstructural analysis revealed that the paint surface was degraded in irregular patterns. The concentration of MPs generated in the specimen with 6 g of plant fiber was approximately 1.47 and 3.10 times higher than those in the samples with 12 and 18 g of fiber, respectively. Through the health risk assessment, it was found that when 18 g of plant fiber was added, the health index ranged from 0.09 ∼ 0.12, which was lower than the value of 0.4 ∼ 0.52 observed in the specimens with 6 g of fiber. The study demonstrated that both MPs generation and health risk were optimized in the specimen case with 18 g of plant fiber applied to the flooring material, and a novel biomaterial additive flooring material that reducing MPs generation was developed.